China tech prowess to march in Beijing

By Li Xinran  |   2009-9-24  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

DOMESTICALLY developed cruise missiles, surveillance aircraft and attack helicopters will be among the state-of-the-art weaponry featured in the National Day military parade on October 1, a senior officer from the parade command office said yesterday.

All 52 types of weapon systems to be showcased were made in China, and 90 percent of them will be reviewed for the first time, said Major General Gao Jianguo.

The Army is expected to display its most advanced battle tanks and the country's first armed choppers designed for attack missions. Further cutting-edge weaponry will include sophisticated radar, unmanned aerial vehicles and satellite communication devices.

The Navy will show off new anti-ship missiles, land-attack missiles, ship-to-air missiles, new armored vehicles for marines and multi-role fighter jets.

Fifteen J-10 fighters from the Air Force will fly over Tian'anmen Square along with the country's first surveillance plane.

Airborne troops will march alongside their new armored vehicles. Their formations will also include new radar and land-to-air missiles.

The Second Artillery will showcase updated nuclear ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.

There will be 56 regiments on the ground and in the air during the parade, symbolizing the country's 56 ethnic groups. The review is expected to last 66 minutes, Gao told a news conference.

Beijing plans its biggest-ever traffic control network, with 7,000 officers patrolling the streets to make sure the parade and other celebration activities go smoothly.

Police were told to keep "all unstable factors" out of Beijing, said Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee Political Bureau.

The once-in-a-decade military display began preparations and training at several military bases on Beijing's outskirts in May.

"The design and planning of the parade were achieved by computer simulation with the aid of three-dimensional software to improve efficiency and reduce costs," Gao said.

"All the uniforms and weapons used in training and the final parade are in active service," he added.

Gao dismissed at allegation that a powerful military capacity displayed by the high-profile parade might worry China's neighbors, saying that holding a military parade on major festivals is an international practice.

"The parade will embody China's economic and technological progress with new achievements in the modernization of its national defense," Gao said.

"Whether a country's military power will raise threats to other nations depends on the nature of the country's defense policies," he said.